INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cabling
TIM and Infratel Italia accelerate
fibre switch-on plan in ‘white areas’
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TIM and Infratel Italia, the inhouse
company of Italy’s Ministry
of Economic Development,
are accelerating the development of
ultrabroadband in Italy to address the
COVID-19 emergency, adding further
impetus to cabling programmes leading
to the ‘switch on’ of all the infrastructure
to access the public fibre-optic network
installed by Infratel in eight regions: Abruzzo,
Sardinia, Tuscany, Puglia, Calabria, Lazio,
Lombardy and Marche. All of the ‘white
areas’ are subject to direct intervention by
Infratel Italia and not under concession.
Work has already been carried out in 241
municipalities, rising to 310 by May with the
switch-on of over 1,600 cabinets.
The initiative, which follows on from the
agreement signed last July, concerns the
municipalities covered by the ‘direct model’,
which aims to build ultrabroadband networks
in so-called ‘white areas’ not previously put
out to tender. About one million citizens,
businesses and public administrations in the
TIM WILL ACQUIRE
A SIGNIFICANT
AMOUNT OF
DARK-FIBRE
INFRASTRUCTURE
BUILT BY INFRATEL
AS PART OF THE
INITIATIVE.
municipalities involved will benefit from the
programme. The new roadmap developed
by Infratel Italia and TIM speeds up
infrastructural work, with Infratel providing
fibre-optic backbones and TIM subsequently
delivering local loops to street cabinets and
installing electronics components.
TIM will acquire a significant amount of
dark-fibre infrastructure built by Infratel
as part of the initiative, which is a major
example of a virtuous synergy between
the public and private sectors to bridge the
digital divide in Italy, in keeping with the
country’s strategy to spread ultrabroadband.
TIM is using this infrastructure to bring
ultrabroadband to the municipalities
served by the project, delivering networks
using FTTC (a total of 653) and FTTH
(15) technology. •
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